Nearly 10 million Americans, or one out of every 20 persons, suffer from a speech or language disorder.

Speech and language disorders are inabilities of individuals to understand and/or appropriately use the speech and language systems of society. Such disorders may range from simple sound repetitions or occasional misarticulations to the complete absence of the ability to use speech and language for communication.

Communication disorders may include:

SPEECH DISORDERS

Articulation: Difficulties with the way sounds are formed and strung together characterized by substituting one sound for another (wabbit for rabbit), omitting a sound (han_ for hand), and distorting a sound (shlip for sip).

RATE/FLUENCY DISORDERS

Stuttering: Interruptions in the flow or rhythm of speech; characterized by hesitations, repetitions, or prolongations of a sound, syllable, word or phrase. Fluency disorders interrupt speech flow.

Voice: Inappropriate pitch (too high, too low, never changing, interrupted by breaks); loudness (too loud or not loud enough); or quality (harsh, hoarse, or breathy). Disorders can include vocal nodules, polyps, laryngectomy, Parkinsons, ALS, MS, Cleft Palate.

LANGUAGE DISORDERS

Delayed Language: Marked slowness in the onset and development of language skills necessary for expressing ideas and for understanding the thoughts and ideas one hears or reads.

Learning disabilities: Something interfering with a child's ability to process messages that his eyes and ears receive.

Aphasia: Loss of speech and language abilities following brain damage resulting sometimes from a stroke or head injury.

Cognitive Impairment: Difficulty in the mental ability to attend to, concentrate on, learn, remember, organize and process information into a logical progression to define reality and to solve problems. Head-injured patients often suffer cognitive deficits.

DYSPHAGIA
Difficulty in swallowing. Assessment can include clinical evaluations and/or Modified Barium Swallow Studies.